The government of Sudan is engaged in a policy of ethnic cleansing against the population of the Darfur region, as it has done in the past against other ethnic groups in the country.

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR urge the Canadian government to:

Send a strong protest to the government of Sudan condemning its deliberate policy of ethnic cleansing in Darfur region and requesting the government of Sudan to grant full and unhindered access to Darfur region by international organizations.

Raise the issue of ethnic cleansing in Darfur at the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) and other international for a.

Explore the possibility of joining in a fact finding trip to Darfur region.

The stateless Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, often in 56 year old refugee camps, are not accorded the host state’s protection, are denied any possibility of citizenship and receive no direct and inviolable international protection.

Many of the Palestinian refugees from Lebanon have lived in Canada for over two years and in that time established themselves in Canadian society.

Resolution 12, Nov. 03 called for recourses in Canada for stateless persons.

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR:

Inform CIC of the well-documented evidence of systematic human rights violations, the recognition by certain IRB members of said violations as persecution and the inconsistent decision-making on Palestinian claims.

Call on CIC to facilitate the H&C process, in light of the unique circumstances faced by stateless Palestinian refugees from Lebanon, to allow the refused refugee claimants to be granted permanent resident status in Canada.

Call on CIC to collaborate with the Palestinian community in Canada to resolve the problems of ID requirements that may be faced by stateless Palestinian refugees.

No certification/accreditation body presently regulates settlement as a profession.

Professionals in this sector provide services at par with other social service providers.

There is an increasing burden on Settlement Practitioners to provide varied and in-depth services meeting provincial/federal reporting, evaluation and accountability requirements.

CIC has promoted the notion of comparable services across provinces and regions.

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR, in collaboration with other sector organizations, seek funding from appropriate sources and contingent upon securing appropriate resources, undertake a feasibility study on Professional Certification within the settlement sector.

UNHCR recognizes voluntary repatriation as one of the three durable solutions and thus actively promotes it when and where conditions permit.

These conditions must be not merely transient but fundamental such as the restoration and rehabilitation of infrastructure, restitution of land and lost property, and all other factors which make voluntary repatriation sustainable.

It is crucial that refugees, including refugee women, have a say in all decisions and activities that affect them, including decisions and activities on voluntary repatriation.

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR ask the Government of Canada to urge UNHCR to insist as a matter of principle in its discussions and negotiations with host governments and governments of countries of origin that refugees, especially refugee women, be included as active partners in the negotiation, planning and implementation of all voluntary repatriation processes.

Everyone in Canada has a Charter right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

Everyone in a state which has ratified the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has an obligation to promote those rights.

The Québec Charter of Rights and Freedoms places a duty on everyone to protect the life of another.

The government of Canada has failed to implement the appeal on the merits for refugee claimants, depriving refused claimants of an important safeguard contained in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The Canadian government has itself acknowledged problems with the refugee determination system, which it has claimed to have addressed with recent changes to the nomination process for IRB members and the introduction of regulations regarding immigration consultants.

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR:

Recognize that recourse to sanctuary may be necessary to protect asylum seekers whose lives or security would be jeopardized if removed from Canada.

Deplore the recent, first-known, violation of sanctuary in Canada by police acting with force and in apparent close cooperation with CBSA and other government officials.

When sanctuary is necessary, encourage those providing it to inform the CCR membership, so that members may assist in encouraging the government to reconsider the situation that leads to sanctuary.

Take appropriate action to encourage the government to reconsider the situation that leads to sanctuary.

Re-affirm the need for the implementation of the appeal on the merits for refused refugee claimants.

Call upon the Canadian government to continue to respect the historic right of sanctuary.

Essential principles of access to refugee protection, due process, and fundamental justice are increasingly under attack in Canada and in other refugee-receiving countries.

The government has indicated that it intends to reform the refugee determination process in Canada.

Therefore be it resolved:

That:

The draft Essential Principles, as amended by the Working Group on Inland Protection, be approved in principle as the present position of the CCR.

The Executive of the CCR be empowered to revise and amend the draft Essential Principles, taking into account feedback from the membership, insofar as such revisions and amendments are in accord with the principles and policies of the CCR.

The CCR publicize the Essential Principles and encourage its members to do likewise.

In practice, Palestinian refugees are excluded from the mandate of the UNHCR in the host counties.

UNRWA, unlike UNHCR, is not mandated to provide protection and security to Palestinian refugees under its administration.

Palestinian refugees have lived without status or protection, often in refugee camps for over 56 years.

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR call on the Canadian government to urge the re-examination of UNHCR ’s responsibility toward Palestinian refugees, suggested by the second paragraph of Article 1(d), the so-called “exclusion clause”, and include the second paragraph in their statutes as a basis for extending human rights protection and inclusivity, thus affirming the intention of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Recent family court decisions in B.C. and Ontario have provided that a child who comes under the jurisdiction of the Hague Convention and who is a refugee claimant in Canada could be returned to the country where she fears persecution prior to a determination of the refugee claim;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR work with the UNHCR and with the UN committee that monitors the Hague Convention and with the Departments of Justice of the provinces which are parties to the Hague Convention to ensure that these two international covenants are applied in a manner that does not interfere with a child's right to have a refugee claim determined and not to be refouled to a country where she has a well-founded fear of persecution.

The CCR passed Resolution 24 in December 2001 and subsequently has held regional workshops and a national conference to explore the issues domestically;

The Conference identified urgent protection for trafficked women and children as a key priority;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR:

Request CIC to develop an immediate protection mechanism leading to permanent residence in Canada to protect trafficked women and children and that the necessary resources and support structures be put in place to sustain the program.

Urge that the Urgent Protection Program be expanded to include trafficked persons and that their immediate family grouping be kept intact since family members left behind may be at risk.

The IRB has implemented new guidelines related to the conduct of hearings;

Many of the provisions contained in these guidelines will result in a denial of refugee claimants' right to be heard and right to counsel;

The IRB has implemented these guidelines in a clear attempt to increase the efficiency of the Board without consideration of the negative impact these guidelines will have on claimants' ability to get a fair hearing;

The CCR has previously passed a resolution (15, Nov. 1998) on video-conferencing of refugee hearings;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR call upon the IRB to:

Withdraw the requirement that the Refugee Protection Officer or Member examine a claimant prior to the claimant's counsel.

Withdraw the ability of the IRB to schedule hearings without regard to counsel's calendars.

Direct Members not to impose a video-conferencing hearing on a claimant in the face of a claimant's objection.

Amend the guidelines to delete the direction to Board members to restrict the length and content of a claimant’s counsel’s submissions.

Add clear guidelines on the treatment of vulnerable claimants in the Guidelines on the Conduct of Hearings.

The increasing use of detention by CIC in provincial jails has resulted in the transfer of immigration detainees to remote areas, where they are effectively denied the right to counsel and cannot even contact counsel due to the requirement to communicate via collect calls from these jails;

Therefore be it resolved:

That CCR call upon the federal and provincial governments to establish procedures to ensure effective access to counsel for all immigration detainees, including free telephone access and face to face communication with counsel.

There is disturbing news of attacks against the fundamental rights of Canadian citizens overseas;

Canadian citizens overseas have experienced severe torture (the cases of Mr Arar and Mr Sampson) and even death under torture (the case of Ms Zahra Kazemi);

The US authorities have returned a naturalized Canadian citizen to his country of origin where he was interrogated and tortured;

There are shocking reports about inadequate support from the Canadian government to Canadians detained overseas and even, in the case of Arar, indications of collaboration between the RCMP and CSIS on the one hand and the US and Syrian authorities on the other;

Visible minorities and Canadian citizens with refugee backgrounds are the main victims of such abhorrent practices;

Survivors have demanded a full public inquiry into their tragic experiences;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR:

Ask the Government of Canada to accept requests from survivors or the families of victims for a full independent public inquiry into their cases and the conditions surrounding their arrest, removal to torture and the role of the Canadian officials.

Urge the US government to make a similar public inquiry into the cases of Canadian citizens returned to torture.

Request that the Canadian public inquiry have the utmost transparency with the aim of shedding light on the role of Canadian officials in protecting Canadian citizens and verifying the methods of torture used against our fellow-citizens overseas and on the role of other governments in subjecting Canadians to torture or other cruel and unusual treatment.

Promote Canada's working towards the non-derogable right of every human person not to be sent to torture.

Urge that, even in extreme cases of security suspicion, Canadian citizens overseas be returned to Canada for further investigation and possible prosecution rather than sent to torture.

Appeal to the Canadian government to play an effective role in rehabilitation, redress and compensation in the cases of Canadian citizens who have been tortured overseas.

Petition the Government of Canada to take all necessary steps to maintain Canadian global leadership in the exposure, prevention and eradication of torture and the need for its absolute prohibition.

Ask the Government of Canada to take immediate diplomatic, economic and political action against governments that have tortured and will torture Canadian citizens or send them to torture.

Solicit the Government of Canada to use regional and intergovernmental agencies, where possible, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the UN Committee Against Torture and the UN Committee on Human Rights to object to the treatment of Canadian citizens overseas.

Encourage the Canadian Government to take immediate action to intervene in the cases of all Canadians who are languishing in overseas jails and are subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has noted with concern in its recent report on Canada that children are being excluded from schools in Canada because of their lack of immigration status;

It is the policy of the CCR that all minor children residing in Canada have the right to attend school regardless of their immigration status;

Education of children is a matter of the exclusive jurisdiction of the provincial governments under the Canadian constitution;

The exception set out in section 30(2) of IRPA has the effect, due to its ambiguity, of excluding from school many children who are not visitors;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR:

Urge the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to amend section 30(2) omitting the exception.

Contact all the provincial Ministers of Education and urge them to ensure that all minor children are admitted to schools in Canada free of charge without regard to their immigration status.

Work with local groups such as the Education Rights Task Force in Ontario to develop strategies to ensure that all minor children have free access to education everywhere in Canada regardless of their immigration status.

The province of BC is preparing a system of 'Open Tendering' for settlement services, potentially contracting private sector interests to deliver core settlement services to immigrants for profit.

CIC has intentionally developed an internationally unique infrastructure of community-based immigrant settlement organizations across all provinces and territories;

Therefore be it resolved:

That the CCR express to CIC-NHQ (Integration), CIC BC Region and the BC Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services concerns about the threat posed to service quality, accessibility, professionalism and community connectedness by 'Open tendering' and the potential transfer of settlement services away from the current network of community-based agencies.